But they face a battle with ­other ­clubs for all three, especially for Mellars, who is also thought to interest Warrington. Prop Mark Bryant is poised to join Harlequins, Jarrod Sammut has already signed with Bradford and Jason Chan has been linked to Huddersfield.

The rest of the Crusaders squad have five matches to impress other Super League sides, ­starting this afternoon at Wakefield.

Powerful Welsh ­international Ben Flower is thought to be ­attracting ­attention from several clubs.

Iestyn Harris’s ­players met on Thursday and ­decided to go ahead with ­today’s clash at the ­Wildcats, whose top-flight status was assured when the Welsh outfit ­withdrew.

The players agreed not to speak to the media ahead of the game and ­concentrate on matters on the pitch – they even called an extra training ­session for Friday.

Some are believed to be owed ­thousands of pounds in pension ­payments and Bryant ­revealed they had to pay their own travel expenses for Murrayfield Magic, held in Edinburgh two years ago.

Despite the turmoil, they have pulled together as a group and see these last few games as a chance to put themselves in the shop window for next year.

The Crusaders players and backroom staff were paid on time on Friday, and chief executive Rod Findlay is confident that will continue to be the case.

Findlay is still ­looking to keep the club going next ­season, ­although they may have to leave Wrexham.

He said: “It’s very early days on that front, but we are looking whether there can be a ­viable club ­going forward.

“We would prefer it to be a Championship club playing in Wrexham, but it could be in Championship One, and there are other venues in south Wales that might be more suitable.”

The Wildcats are expected to sign Keith Senior, who had penned a two-year deal with ­Crusaders.